Susan Maclean

The outsourcing market is growing faster in the financial services industry than in any other vertical. IDC Canada forecasts a compound annual growth rate to about 8.6 per cent to 2008, compared to an average of 3.9 per cent. Two IDC Canada analysts offered Susan Maclean their perspectives on this strong sector, which represents about 18 per cent of the entire Canadian spend on external IT. Matt Jarrett, a senior analyst with Financial Insights Canada within IDC Canada, is responsible for the Canadian financial services research vertical. He has participated in the initial stages of major outsourcing relationships at financial institutions. Leslie Rosenblood, another IDC Canada analyst, provides insight into the IT outsourcing industry.

As more and more Voice over IP applications come on stream, you don't have to look far to find organizations that have had significant success with this emerging technology. Two Canadian organizations - House of Blues Concerts Canada and the City of Mississauga - are two good cases in point.

Even a whisper of the word outsourcing in a company can produce a panic among IT staff comparable to the mention of the word marriage to the most commitment-phobic among us. And that

The lure of using RFID to track products

RFID technology is getting attention for its potential to lower warehousing and distribution costs, but existing warehouse management software is already boosting the efficiency and accuracy of shipping, receiving, picking and packing operations.

A surplus of information with processes sub-managed in various departments was hampering the growth of a Vancouver-based high-end residential furniture manufacturer with business partners across North America and Europe.

Getting data where it is needed has become an essential part of getting products to their destinations. Two Canadian firms are applying IT to address chronic problems in getting the goods where they need to be.

IT can help manufacturers as they continue to face tough challenges in the increasingly global market.